Country Star, 49, Was Once the Only Boy in Beauty Pageants – and It Nearly Ended His Career
is one of country music's biggest names, but the Oklahoma native almost turned away from his career before it even began all thanks to his time in beauty pageants.
When he was a small child, Shelton was so desperate to sing that his mom would put him in beauty pageants to give him an opportunity on stage.
'Can't you tell that I'm beauty pageant material?' Shelton joked during an appearance on the 'Q With Tom Power' podcast. 'I had two signature songs back then. I think I was probably seven years old and I was probably, in Ada, Oklahoma, the only boy in the entire pageant, you know? My two songs were 'Old Time Rock 'N Roll' and 'Cat Scratch Fever' by Ted Nugent.'
The 'Stay Country or Die Tryin'' singer added that neither he nor his mom really knew what 'Cat Scratch Fever' was about and said that he 'literally thought it was about somebody's house cat scratching them and making them sick.'
'I was so embarrassed and humiliated by being in those pageants, I told her, 'Mom, I don't want to sing anymore because it's just embarrassing and my friends are going to find out,'' Shelton continued. 'But I quit after that because it was just embarrassing, and it wasn't until I was probably 12 or 13 that I started wanting to perform again.'
Once Shelton's mom knew how he really felt about being in the beauty pageants, she began entering him in 'little Opry type hometown shows around Ada.' Her persistence paid off and eventually Shelton was performing with a variety of different stars like Kentucky Head Hunters and Travis Tritt. Thankfully, that's all it took to change his mind.
'I was getting to do some country music, you know, and by then, in my mind, there was no stopping me. This is what I was going to do."
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Country Star, 49, Was Once the Only Boy in Beauty Pageants – and It Nearly Ended His Career first appeared on Parade on Jul 25, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
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